Terps ink 12 recruits on both sides of the ball, including 11 area players

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland head football coach Randy Edsall announced Wednesday the addition of 24 recruits for the 2012 season, 20 of whom signed national letters-of-intent.

The class includes both 12 offensive and defensive players, with 11 of the prospects hailing from the Maryland/Washington, D.C., area, more than double last year’s total, and five incoming players labeled as four-star recruits.

“I’m excited about the depth and quality of this class,” Edsall said. “All of these student-athletes are outstanding individuals who come from winning programs, have a great work ethic and leadership skills, and understand the team concept. Our staff did a great job in identifying the players who fit the profile we’re looking for in a Maryland football player.”

According to ESPN.com, five of the top 18 players in the state are heading to Maryland, including a pair of SuperPrep All-Americans in offensive lineman Mike Madaras and running back Wes Brown, who were teammates at Good Counsel (Md.) High School.

“We were able to make some in roads in our prime recruiting areas of Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania,” Edsall said. “We got into some areas and schools which we haven’t been able to in a long time.”

Maryland fulfilled a number of needs on both sides of the ball with running back, linebacker and defensive back the most represented positions.

“I’m really pleased with the balance of this class,” Edsall said. “This is a class which will come in and blend in well with our returning players.”

In addition to Brown, the Terps added another four-star player in Albert Reid, the 2011 D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year, as well as Kenneth Goins and Joe Riddle, to their backfield. That group comprised the second-best running back class in the nation, according to Scout.com.

Abner Logan is the most highly regarded of the five linebackers who will join the team in the fall. Logan was a four-star selection by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com. Rivals.com has the Maryland linebacker class pegged as 16th-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

All-state performers Brock Dean, one of five players from Pennsylvania, Stefan Houston, Shawn Petty and Avery Thompson will join Logan as first-year linebackers in the program.

The Terps also added five defensive backs, including Sean Davis of Maret School in Washington, D.C., Alvin Hill, one of three signees from the state of Georgia, and Anthony Nixon, the lone New Jersey recruit.

Isaac Goins and Zach Dancel are a pair of transfers who will join the secondary. Goins, who played at Contra Costa (Calif.) College the last two years, enrolled in classes last month and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Dancel, who played at Good Counsel with Brown and Madaras, will join the team in the fall. He is transferring from the University of New Mexico at the end of the spring semester.

The Terps only recruited two offensive linemen, but both are four-star products. In addition to Madaras, Nick Brigham, who hails from Atlanta, will join the team in the fall.

Amba Etta-Tawo is the third product from the state of Georgia and one of three wide receivers in the class, joining Malcolm Culmer and Levern Jacobs, who enrolled in classes in January after spending the fall semester at Milford (N.Y.) Academy.

Defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson of Pittsburgh, who signed with the Terps in 2011, is the third spring enrollee. Roman Braglio, a consensus All-Maryland player, is the other addition along the defensive line.

The Terps are adding a pair of quarterbacks with Scout.com ranking that position No. 10 in the nation.

Caleb Rowe of Landrum, S.C., is the 26th-ranked pro-style QB in the country and Perry Hills, of Pittsburgh, is viewed as the No. 29 signal-caller in the nation.

Maryland also has a quality addition at tight end. P.J. Gallo of Holland, Pa., is the 23rd-ranked tight end in the nation according to Scout.com.